The Coronet magazine has given support to the records which establish the dark day—of Matthew 24:29, 30; Isaiah 10—as the historical episode of May 19, 1780. In an article in the May, 1946, issue of Coronet, the following statements on the darkening of both the sun and the moon are made by Vincent H. Gaddis, under the title, "America's 'First 'Black Friday.'"
"Inhabitants of New England had no suspicion of a coming ordeal as the sun rose bright and warm on the morning of May 19, 1780. . . .
"As the sun rose higher, a light wind began blowing toward the northeast. Suddenly, about io o'clock, a haze formed in the sky over the southwestern part' of the area. . . .
"New Englanders expected a storm, then a hurricane. The darkness deepened, lights appeared in windows, din ners were eaten by candlelight, schools were dismissed. Along town streets torches appeared, and in the rural districts the chickens went to roost and cows gathered at the barns. . . .
"Roughly, the area included what is now Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. Eastern New York was included, as well as the northeastern corner of Pennsylvania.
"During the afternoon, as the darkness deepened into the black of a starless midnight, panic arose. Like a vast, heavy hand, the inky sea pressed down on a bewil dered population. Fear raced across the stricken area with wild rumors, and horror followed. To many thou sands of frightened people this deepest of nights in mid day could mean but one thing : the Day of Judgment.
'Churches were opened. In hundreds of communities, through the murky gloom came processions of torches to the places of worship. In lonely farmhouses there was family prayer. Many confessed their sins and begged forgiveness. . . .
"Dr. Nathanel Whittaker, pastor of the Tabernacle Church in Salem, Massachusetts, arose to address the largest congregation his church had ever held. Only the sobs of weeping women broke the hushed stillness in the candlelit building. 'This darkness,' he said, 'is super natural—sent by God. We may all be judged within the hour.' . . .
"Midnight came—and passed. Thousands of square miles under the black blight, white faces and fear-filled eyes were dimly visible in the flickering of candles and torches. . . .
"Stiddenly there were shouts. Thousands of eyes turned skyward. Blood-red and dim, the moon appeared. . . .
'Those fourteen hours of horror were not forgotten. The citizens of several New England towns voted to keep the following t9th of May as a day of fasting and prayer. Dr. Samuel Stearns, in the Worcester Spy, warned that it was 'an omen of some future destruction that may overtake this land like a deluge, unless a speedy reformation should immediately take place.' . . .
"There was no eclipse at the time. As to a possible forest-fire explanation, Noah Webster, writing in 1779, said : 'That forty miles of burning forest should cover hundreds of square miles with impenetrable darkness is too absurd to deserve a serious refutation.' What's more, there were no big forest fires reported at the time."
Expositors of the prophecies of the second ad vent will welcome these statements, presented to the world by the authoritative and dispassionate voice of Coronet.
It is but natural that Mr. Gaddis, while making it a point to deny and refute all assertions of nat ural explanations for this phenomenon, confesses that the darkness "has no explanation" and "the cause of the phenomenon remains unknown." The student of prophecy accepts the explanation offered by the Bible, "I will cover the heavens, and make the stars thereof dark ; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark." Eze. 32:7, 8, A.R.V.
Centuries before, inspiration had declared that "the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood" ( Joel 2:31, A.R.V.), or—"The full moon turned like blood' (Rev. 6:12, Moffatt).
* Copyright, 1946, by Esquire, Inc., 919 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Illinois (Coronet, May, 1946). Reprinted by permission.
